I use a defy too and have tried a few free cycling apps. So far I found the Sportypal pro is the best amongst the free ones. The free pro version has very little limitations comparing to the paid one, and comparing to the standard Sportypro it provides some more useful features such as auto pause to provide a more accurate result for commuting rides, and you can see the altitude climbs from the website (may not be very accurate though).

I use Run Keeper which you can use for running, walking, hiking, driving, skiing and cycling. When you upload to the net, a wee while later it shows elevation and a pace graph with 1km splits and average calories burnt. You can also upload your route and search for other users routes in your area. It emails you milestones etc. On the paid version you can log into the website and track in real time your location (alright if your wife wants to keep tabs on you!)

I have had a Defy for about the last 6 mths or so, bought for the same reason ie waterproof etc. Has been a reasonable phone until they upgraded the software version to 2.2 and it then seemed to get heaps slow and started to freeze, sometimes the touch screen is an absolute pain in the .....!

I have tried the free versions of Runtastic, Endomondo and Runkeeper as well as MyTracks. Currently using Runkeeper as I'm more running than anything else and I like the way it talks to you each k with time/splits etc. Simple matter of selecting what sport you are doing. If it's fully charged two hrs with GPS is no problems but I find it needs a charge at least everyday in general use especially if you do a bit of facebook/net surfing. Havent tried any dedicated cycling apps so might have a look at Velodroid..

As an aside I am trying an app called Launcherpro which I think is basically a different skin and the phone seems to be a lot quicker and doesn't freeze as much. If you download homeswitcher you can select between the motorblur or launcherpro. Would love to know enough to get rid of the motorblur.

drubie wrote:Really, it's pretty impressive. Perhaps not as good as buying a Garmin product, but given a few months I think either Garmin will have to release a phone, merge with Powertap or be out of business.

Hmm - too car oriented for me. I reckon the perfect setup would be a bluetooth, bike computer head unit with speed and cadence and HR displayed that spoke enough bluetooth to your smart phone to allow synchronous recording. That way, the phone stays in the pocket, happily mapping away, while the small display did the "immediate" stuff. Have your HR mapped against the GPS readings, you wouldn't need a powertap.

I too am waiting for a complete BlueTooth solution . You would think in this day and age it would be here by now . A Bluetooth earpiece that fits in your helmet would be great too . I find the lap times that Endmondo Sportstracker gives you very motivating . Is there a limit to the number of simultaneous BT connections a phone can have active at once ? It seems silly having so many different proprietary wireless protocols that are totally incompatible when bluetooth seems to be more than adequate and an established standard . The possibilities for personalised configuration seem almost limitless . Just add a cadence , speed , HR , speaker or whatever BT module that tickles your fancy . The beauty being you can use your phone as the "headunit" that has totally upgradeable software . It's a win win . The days of super expensive Cycling computers are surely coming to a close .

I have used "move! Bike computer" for gps path mapping, though I have not compared the calculated speeds to a sensor based cycle computer. It exports to gpx which can be opened in Google earth, which is pretty handy.

My wife and I recently updated our phones to Sony xperias that have ant+ built in . As she already has the Garmin 910XT with the HRM and GSC-10 (Cadence/speed sensor) I thought I'd just see how well the ant+ sensors work with the phone .Unfortunately the GSC-10 does not work , It connects but thats about it with the speed just going crazy and no cadence registering at all . The HRM works perfectly and didn't drop out once over a 2.5 Hr ride . The phone was in my back pocket shirt and despite only going out with 17% battery it actually lasted the distance without having to be put on low power mode just using Endomondo's default settings . The actual distances recorded by the garmin and Endomondo were within 2% of each other , That I have actually tested a number of times while out riding with my wife . Personally I'm happy with a cheapy computer to tell my my current speed/cadence with endomondo giving me lap times and keeping a record of my rides . On the other hand my wife does triathlons and thinks it's great as she can take it swimming .Is anyone using a proper speed sensor with android endomodo ?My mate recently got a brand new Telstra branded motorola Defy+ delivered for $99 with would make a great cycling computer as it's IP67 rated ("mostly" waterproof) and once you have rooted it and put a custom rom on it has reasonable battery life .

Troy, have you tested the Xperias with any other apps? It seems that the issue is the APP reading the sensor, rather than the PHONE reading the sensor. I've been looking into this, and found it strange that the ANT+ site only links apps to the sensors, instead of the phones.

IPBike seems to be a good workaround app? Would be great to know because while I wouldn't use the Garmin straight off the bat (duotrap Trek) I would have to get one for my commuter. Are you able to do any alternate app testing?

Bingo . You are indeed correct . It appears as if the fault lies with endomondo as both speed and cadence are working perfecly with IPBike. I had to install a second app called ipsensorman to make it work which I was alerted to as soon as I pushed the sensor icon within ipbike app . It sent me straight to the app store link and it was free as well .Had a smnall hiccup in that it wouldn't work to begin with and was asking me if I was in airplane mode . Switched on bluetooth and it started to work . I'm actually surprised it worked at all as I've been mucking around with custom roms and currently have the latest Jelly Bean android installed .It's a shame this app looks so awkward , It's just not a patch on Endomondo , Currently trying to figure out how to kill it . I guess with a bit of customizing it could well be perfectly functional .Thanks for the tip .I'm going to shoot Endomondo an email asking why their app is not compatible , Pointless and a waste of my time but at least I tried .

I think the key is customising the display. It ain't pretty, that's for sure, but if ANY app that does ANT+ can't work with the Garmin GSC-10 then it's absolutely useless IMO. I'd gladly consider Endomondo or Strava but neither show as compliant, and what is the point if you can't use the most popular sensor?

I'm a bit confused about the value of it all, seems like I'll have to go Garmin plus phone because none of the phones have sufficient battery life to run the screen AND the GPS AND the app unless I want to just record the commutes... even then that's 2 hours a day. A week between charges isn't unreasonable, is it?

I've got a Sony Ericsson Xperia Active - with the built in ANT+ sensor. I run the Garmin app with a GSC-10 and haven't had any problems. The phone itself seems waterproof (and is advertised as dust proof and water resistant), I rode home in a torrential downpour here in Melbs the other day without complaint.

I used to use the Strava app, but I like having the cadence and speed data from the GSC-10, and I can then download the Garmin data as a gpx file and upload to Strava.Battery life seems okay, but leaving the screen on, with maps does tend to chew through the power.

The Ipman apps are great, but take a LOT of work getting set up so that the screen shows only the relevant data. The GUI is still a bit clumsy for my liking.

martin

"You make pigs smoke. You feed beef burgers to swans. You have big sheds, but nobody's allowed in..."

I haven't been for a decent ride since I started using the garmin sensor/app combo, but with strava running I've done a three hours ride and still had decent battery left.I think you can cache maps, and this might bring down the power usage...anyone know?Martin

"You make pigs smoke. You feed beef burgers to swans. You have big sheds, but nobody's allowed in..."

Something that is handy for cycle-touring where you may not always have network access or just don't want to use the GPS and drain your battery, are off-line maps. I have Maps With Me, and it is remarkably detailed, all around the world, showing tourist facilities and services to a good degree of accuracy.

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